Lake Mungo: Destination Ghostly
Another film I approached on the Horror Movie Challenge list with trepidation. With skepticism. I mostly do with Aussie films, I have to say, I really do. It takes a lot to impress me and I wasn’t having much luck with some of the films Simon had chosen but I eat those words.
Lake Mungo.. could be up there (in my eyes) with Paranormal Activity which if you remember was my number 2 flick of the year..
Horror Movie Challenge #4 – LAKE MUNGO
Firstly, Lake Mungo is shot documentary style. No, not like Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity but in the way that its presented as if it was a documentary on ABC, in the aftermath of a young girl who drowns in a rural country town in Victoria. Family and friends talking to the camera to talk about the events of that day and its aftermath which you would think would be about the grieving period and learning to live without the young girl named Alice.
The ghost aspect of the story unravels ever so naturally, evolving beautifully from a documentary about death, and grieving to a ghost story, where the family are so sure Alice survived, and is being seen in photographs after her supposed death. Strange noises during the night, and her brother captures video of her throughout the night wandering into her room.
This stands out because it isn’t a conventionally jumpy ghost story. This isn’t the Ring where you will see her crawl out of the TV, and its not Paranormal Activity where Alice’s ghost will be lifting the bedsheets, and slamming doors to haunt her family. This is even more subtle than that. Its unsettling. Unnerving, and so chilling, without having to resort to the conventional ‘horror’ that you’re used to, with the creaky doors and whatnot. And that’s why it works. That’s why it lingers, and made me watch, entranced with how it was unfolding. Beautifully done and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend for a great movie to watch with the lights out.
